True Colors
by the bonzai bandits
Summary: Their old school is burnt to the ground, and the gang is sent to Hogwarts. Being separated is hard enough, but when houses clash and relationships are tested, it's about what's underneath their colors that really matters.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! This is **the tequila bandit **here, just to say hi! As you can see, cougar and I have a fic now, a crossover between our two loves, Harry Potter and The Outsiders (for further info, see our profile). So really, I just wanted to say that our main goal with this was to show off the boys of the Outsiders at Hogwarts, in a believable way, like it was a part of their life. So no, one day a magical man did not appear and reveal they were wizards. They knew. I certainly hope you like it, so happy reading!

Howdy! You'll be super glad that you clicked on this story because it's going to be totally fantastic (and I can only say that without sounding like a stuck-up prick because my other half is so fabulous).

As said above, this will be extremely believable. No Mary Sues spawned by Sirius Black and his exotic lover will fall in love with the boys - they are safe! That being said, we're open to all sorts of feedback, because we are not perfect, and are apt to make mistakes - please be open and honest, and I hope you like it!  
Thanks!  
_the cougar bandit _

* * *

Ponyboy looked up at the castle, looming over him against the night sky, peppered with winking stars. He didn't _want _to leave home, or go to this stupid school.

Then again – he'd heard a lot of good things about Hogwarts. He'd always wanted to see it, but – living in America – he never imagined that he would actually be finishing his wizarding education here. Back in America, after the school had burned to the ground in FiendFyre, and nothing anyone tried to reverse it was doing any good, they had all had to make other arrangements.

Most of the students had decided to stay in America and be homeschooled, but Ponyboy and his brothers, his whole gang really, didn't have that option. And it was either Hogwarts, or an Academy in France or Durmstrang, in Russia. And since he didn't have a word of French, or any particular desire to freeze to death, Hogwarts had been the best option.

He looked up at Soda, his brother, and Steve, Soda's best friend. Both were looking distinctly unimpressed, eyebrows raised. Ponyboy knew they were both trying to look tough.

He wanted to ask Soda if he was as scared as Ponyboy felt, but he wouldn't do it in front of Steve.

Instead, he cleared his throat, and asked, "What happens if we're not in the same house?"

Soda shrugged his shoulders. "I'll automatically hate you."

Ponyboy gaped at him, stricken, and Steve smirked. "Quit it, Soda," he said. "You're scarin' the poor kid."

Soda sighed. "Nothin', Pone," he said. "You'll still be my brother, I swear."

"I ain't heard the best things about Slytherin," Ponyboy mumbled.

"Don't listen to any of that," said Steve quickly. "A few rotten apples don't ruin the bunch."

Soda frowned, and turned around to look at Steve. "Steve," he said. "Man, I think they do." He started laughing, and Steve shrugged his shoulders.

"It doesn't matter where you go kid," he said to Ponyboy savagely. "As long as you ain't buggin' me."

Ponyboy looked away from him. There was another thing he needed to ask Soda.

"Soda," he started, in an oddly constricted voice. "What if - Families always end up in the same house, right?"

Soda looked at him, puzzled. "I don't know, Pone," he said, smiling apologetically at him. "Why? Scared you won't have me around to protect you?"

"God help the kid, he won't be able to follow you around all day," muttered Steve.

Ponyboy glowered, and Soda threw him a reproachful glance.

"Look Pone," he said, sounding just the tiniest bit exasperated. "It won't matter what house you're in."

Ponyboy didn't even give him a chance to say anything else. "What if we're not in the same house?"

Ponyboy couldn't tell him that nothing Soda had said had made the knot in his stomach ease in any way. He needed to be in the same house as Sodapop. He needed to be so badly. Most people liked him on his brother's account, and it would be hard enough to be in a such a strange foreign environment. Trying to do that without his brother seemed damn near impossible. He may have lost a lot, but he would always have Soda. He was scared - there wasn't much left of his family now; he needed what was left to stay as close together as possible.

Soda only chuckled, way too unconcerned by this though. "We will be," he said with conviction. "Just relax."

"Yeah Ponyboy," Steve smirked. "Mommy's right here."

XXX

"Ha! I can't _believe_ Pony and Steve are stuck in the same house together!"

Soda grinned over at Two-Bit as he laid sprawled out on the couch in their common room later that night. "Yeah, maybe it'll make those two closer. I sure wouldn't mind that."

"I'm not sure who's face was more priceless," Dallas smirked, slouching in the chair across from Soda. "Steve's when he got called into that raven house, or Pony's when he saw that Steve was the _only other one of us with him_!"

"Yeah." Soda leafed a hand through his hair, feeling a little sad that his little brother and best friend weren't with him.

"I thought for sure Steve would be in the same house as you, Soda," Johnny piped up, like he was reading Soda's mind or something. Soda flashed a grin at Johnny.

"Don't worry about it, kid." He heard three girls he had met at the feast giggle at him from a table away from them.

"Looks like you gotta new fanclub, Soda." Two-Bit winked from where he sat on the ground, nudging Soda's leg. Soda swatted him away.

"Yeah, yeah."

Two-Bit got up, and jerked his head at the gang. "I'm gonna head in, guys. Need my beauty sleep, after all." He passed by the three giggling girls again, and tipped an imaginary hat. "Ladies."

Johnny rolled his eyes and chuckled, Dallas just scoffed. "Idiot. I'm heading in too. 'Night you two." Soda closed his eyes, really just wanting to be alone. He knew if Dally left, so would Johnny and sure enough not a minute later, Johnny called it a night too.

"See ya, Soda." Soda cracked an eye open, and saw to his amusement that Dally had actually waited for Johnny, so they could walk up together. Those two were so predictable sometimes.

"Bye, guys." He sat there for a little while, watching the flames die down, and the walls seemed to darken to a swamp green color. It sure was depressing, the common room. He sighed, and made to get up.

He walked out of the common room, in the dark dungeon and decided it wasn't much better. Before he could go back inside, the gaggle of girls appeared and started to talk to him. He was just starting to wonder how he could get away, when suddenly -

"Um, excuse me?" Soda looked to see the three girls were blocking the way to the common room. They moved out of the way, and a tall brunette marched through, looking very peeved off.

"You don't have to block the whole entrance, you know," she muttered under her breath, and Soda cracked a smile when he heard it. Unfortunately, the three other girls heard it too.

"Excuse me? No one was talking to you, Valenti," the blonde girl snapped. "Shove off, okay?"

The girl softened her face, and looked at the blonde girl imploringly. "I thought I heard one of the teachers coming. You know how strict they are about staying up after hours on the first day of school, Stacey."

Stacey - the blonde - seemed to think about this a little. "Oh. Are they coming - ?"

"That's why I was in a rush," Valenti said quickly, putting up her hands.

"Oh. Okay. Well ... " Stacey narrowed her eyes, as if looking for a trap. "Thanks?"

"No problem," Valenti said cheerfully, and waved as the girls went off to their dorms. As soon as they were out of sight, she let out a huge sigh, and walked over to the fireplace.

"Hey," Soda started, looking after her. "You ain't worried someone's coming?"

"Are you?" She gave him a knowing smile. "No one's coming, cowboy. I made it up. But I don't want to be in a common room filled with Stacey Goodman's giggles all night."

"Oh." Soda nodded. He was still extremely tired, but walked over to the couches none the less. The fire was still warm, and he didn't feel like talking, if Dal or Two-Bit decided to sneak up to their rooms. This girl didn't seem very talkative anyway. He plopped down on the couch again, sighing loudly.

"That's going to get annoying quickly." She looked up from her place on the ground, but gave him a catty smile. "What's the matter?"

"It's nothing." He shrugged, not feeling up to it.

"Alright." She shrugged, and turned the page in a magazine she was reading. "Hey," she started again. "Is your real name Sodapop?"

He tensed, but nodded with a small grin. "Yeah, what of it?"

She smiled. "It's just weird, is all." She laughed, but not maliciously. He would've been madder, but then she continued. "It fits you."

"Yeah, well what's a name like Valenti? That's weird." He huffed. She chortled again.

"That's my last name, cowboy. It's Phyllis, but don't call me that or I'll break your arm." She sized him up. "Or, well, I'll get one of my Quidditch friends to do it for me."

"Quidditch?" Soda perked up. "You play?"

She beamed. "Sure do. I'm a beater."

"No way!" Soda grinned. "I'm a beater too!"

"Hey, really?" She turned completely around now, grinning. "Aw, man. Are you any good? We need a new one!"

He sat back down, smiling. "Yeah, I'm pretty good. Me and my best buddy - " He stopped, sighing. Him and Steve wouldn't be on the same team, if he got on.

"What's wrong?" she asked, this time genuine.

"Nothing. It's just my little brother and best friend are in that other house - Ravenclaw? And I'm here. And I hear no one likes Slytherins."

"Hey now." She looked stern. "That's not true. The _smart _ones like Slytherin. It's only the stuck up prats, like those Gryffindors, that hate us." She nodded, and brightened. "In fact, my best friend's a Ravenclaw."

"Really?" Soda asked curiously. "What's she like?"

"Oh, she's lovely," Valenti rattled on. "She's got really blonde hair, and she's super tiny. And she's wicket smart." She nodded, looking happy. "Oh. And she's got this great accent - even better than yours. She's Irish."

"Oh," Soda commented, nodding. "She sounds nice. And how did you know I'm from Oklahoma, anyway?"

"I didn't," she said cheekily. "You sound like all those cowboys in the movies - I thought you were from Texas or something. Where's Oklahoma?"

Soda tried explaining it to her, and after five more minutes of just talking about Quidditch and cowboy movies, they both retired to bed.

"Hey," she called back down to him. "I'm telling Roger that you're trying out for the team, okay?" He nodded, and walked back upstairs. Valenti wasn't Ponyboy or Steve, but she was a nice girl, and he actually felt a little better after talking to her.

XXX

Isabelle slammed her book shut, yawning.

"Hogwarts; A History," said a voice over her shoulder. She looked around – it was the new kid, the one who'd come from America with a few friends. "Well _that _definitely wasn't on our booklist."

"Have you got one?" Isabelle asked him, scrambling to her feet. "Everybody should."

He shook his head.

"Well you can borrow mine," she offered. "Any time you like."

"Thanks," he smiled. "I've read through everything I brought with me about ten times."

Isabelle smiled back at him. "I heard your school burned down, is that true?"

The boy nodded somberly. "Some stupid kids set the place up in FiendFyre." Isabelle's jaw dropped. "And it ain't as big as this place," the boy continued. "And there was just no stopping it."

"What about the counter curse?" Isabelle suggested, trying her best to hold back sarcasm.

He nodded grimly. "It spread too fast. It was everywhere."

Isabelle let out a whistle. Whoever they were, they must have been crazy to start a fire like that.

"I'm Isabelle," she said eventually, realizing how alone this poor kid probably felt.

"Ponyboy Curtis," he replied, shaking her outstretched hand. Isabelle blinked.

"Yeah I thought that's what was called out," she mumbled. "Is that your real name?"

Ponyboy's cheeks went a little red. "Yeah it is," he said defensively.

Isabelle frowned. "I'm sorry," she said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to insult you. I've just never heard a name like that before."

Ponyboy shrugged his shoulders, but he said nothing else. And Isabelle looked around, as if she was looking for inspiration for what she could say to him now.

"Do you have any friends here?" she said. By the look on his face, she could tell she'd offended him. She grimaced.

Ponyboy cleared his throat. "Well, my brother got put in Slytherin."

"Oh yeah," Isabelle recalled, thinking of the cute blond boy who went just after Ponyboy. "Do you wish he was here?"

Ponyboy nodded. "He told me we'd be in the same house but..."

"It doesn't matter," Isabelle said quickly. "Really it doesn't."

"And his best friend is over there," Ponyboy muttered, nodding his head in the opposite direction.

Isabelle glanced from him to Ponyboy. "What's his name?"

"Steve."

"Can I go say hi?" she asked.

"Sure ya can," said Ponyboy. "Better you than me."

Isabelle's frown became more pronounced, but even still, she sauntered over to a desk and chair near the window, where a tall boy was seated, bent over some parchment.

"Hi," she said timidly, trying not to peer at what he was writing over his shoulder.

"You got a problem?" he asked, half turning to look at her.

Taken aback, Isabelle shook her head. "No I just – I just wanted to say," she said, feeling stupid.

"Well, hi," he said.

Isabelle blinked, and then she sat down opposite him, coyly smiling. "How do you like being in Ravenclaw?" she asked him.

"I'd like it a whole lot better if I could be left alone for five minutes," he snapped.

Isabelle blinked, and tossed her blonde hair back petulantly. "Look, you're stuck here until you graduate," she said. "So you better get used to us."

Steve just looked at her, an eyebrow raised. "I'm tryin' to be nice," she added coolly.

"Sorry," Steve replied, although he didn't sound very sorry.

She opened her mouth to reply, and was very surprised when someone yelled, "Steve!" She thought for a second it was _her. _

Evie – one of the girls Isabelle had been sharing with since first year – had walked over and coiled her arms around Steve's neck.

"Hey roomie!" Isabelle said with too much false brightness. "You two know each other?"

Evie just drew in Steve for a kiss, answering Isabelle's. "I wanted an answer, not a demonstration," she muttered coolly.

"Isabelle," Evie said dryly. "Would you be terribly offended if I told you to beat it?"

"Yes," said Isabelle quickly, but Evie hadn't stopped talking long enough to hear her.

"Because I'm going to anyway," she finished, and Isabelle threw her hands up in defeat as she left the table, eyebrows raised.

"He's great, isn't he?" Ponyboy remarked, as she passed, on her way upstairs for this year's first night at Hogwarts.

* * *

Well that's it for now! We'll love it up to yourselves to decipher who wrote what and whatnot. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!


	2. Chapter 2

"I just don't understand," Isabelle sighed as she trudged up the hill to the main gate, "why I have to come along with your new Slytherin friend, Phil."

"Don't be a rotten sport, Izzy," Valenti retorted cheerfully as she watched her friend huff and puff up the hill. "I really like this guy - we need a decent beater this year, or Rogers will throw a fit. I want it to seem as realistic as possible; the whole team will be there on tryouts, and this guy seems a little ... soft."

"Soft?" She looked skeptical. "We're talking about the handsome blond guy, right? He is _not _soft. His brother, on the other hand - "

Valenti rolled her eyes, and smirked at her friend who was practically wheezing by that point. "Did you train at all over the summer? You walked up a bloody hill, not a mountain!"

Isabelle looked sore. "Of course I did. And I didn't ask to come out here on my first week back from term. I could be doing something _else _productive - "

"Like what? Drawing? We both know you don't need to study to get your grades, so let's be realistic, shall we? Trust me, you're going to like this guy." Valenti winked. "Oh, look - there he is." And with that, she marched up to a tall blond guy waiting by the front entrance closest to the pitch.

"What's that supposed to - " Isabelle cut off though when she got a closer look at this guy. She had already seen him from the Sorting, so she knew he was handsome, but up close was even better. He had a kind face, which she assumed was what Valenti meant by "soft", but past that, there was definitely more. He looked strong, first of all - he was tall and slender, but with wide shoulders, which made him look stronger. He had sleek, dark blonde hair that was smoothed back on the sides, like it was windblown, and kicked out in the back. His eyes were dark brown, and very playful. He smiled at her, and she felt herself heat up a bit.

"Hi there." He winked at her with a smile, and held his hand out. "Name's Sodapop - you a friend of Valenti?"

"Friend might be an overstatement," Isabelle said placidly, thankful that her brain had started up again. "But I suppose anyone who can put up with her for over five seconds ought to be considered one - she'd have none, otherwise." She smiled at Valenti, in a much better mood now that she had seen Sodapop up close.

"I met your brother the other night, actually." Isabelle continued as they walked down to the pitch together. "Ponyboy, right?"

Valenti was walking in between them, but Soda flashed another grin at her as they walked on. "Yup. One of a kind, just like our names. My dad had a thing for weird names."

"I wouldn't call it weird - definitely special."

"What kind of special we talking - ?"

"Oh that's enough out of you two lovebirds," Valenti broke in, rolling her eyes at Isabelle and Sodapop. Soda looked unabashed by the comment though, and punched Valenti in the shoulder.

"What you jealous or something? I know you saw me first and all, but I think she could take you in a fight."

"If I'm jealous of anything, it's how much more space you have in that big head of yours."

"Careful now with the insults, or I'm going to think you're flirting with me."

"In your dreams, cowboy."

Isabelle frowned as Valenti and Sodapop continued bickering all the way to the Quidditch field.

xxx

"Izzy, don't be a killjoy!" Valenti called from the field as Izzy sat in the front row. Soda looked at her with an expression she couldn't read.

"It's true - I won't play rough if there's a lady on the field," Soda called back, smiling hopefully at her. "Please?"

Isabelle hesitated, smiling at Soda. Valenti was carrying the box of equipment, but Soda wasn't paying attention. He cupped his hand over his eyes to block the sun, and smiled at Isabelle.

"Well at least _enchant _these balls so they attack him - and don't go easy on him either, Izzy!" Valenti yelled at her.

She opened her mouth to retort, but then she saw a familiar figure walking down the field. "Oh no, _him."_

Soda recognized him, of course. "Steve, hey! Come over here!" He turned to Valenti and Isabelle. "I told my friend to meet us here, hope you don't mind?"

Isabelle resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but Valenti's lit up. "Of course not. What's his name? Steve?" She smiled cattily.

"Yeah," Soda said, walking to the dark-haired boy, and tackling him in a bear hug. Valenti's eyebrows raised, and she gaped at Isabelle and mouthed the words, '_Oh my God.'_

"What's this?" Steve sauntered up to Valenti with Soda. "Playing with a bunch of girls, Soda?"

Valenti's curious smile turned into a glare. "Excuse me?" Steve flickered his gaze to Valenti with an amused expression on his face.

"What are you, a Chaser?"

"Beater, actually," she said coldly. He snorted.

"I didn't think girls - " He stopped, and rolled his eyes. "I mean, don't you ... "

"What? I'm sorry, do you have a problem with - "

Soda slowly backed off of the ensuing fight, and smiled at Isabelle. "Wow, uhm. He usually doesn't take too quickly to girls, especially when they talk back."

"Yeah," Isabelle said, remembering Evie.

"My God, she looks like she's gonna take a swing at him," Soda said, alarmed. "And he does too, come to think of it. Okay, you two, break it up! Come on, cut it out you two!" He went over to them, and pulled Valenti away by the arm.

"Come on, I'd rather you not kill my best friend." She flipped a V-sign at him, and he frowned at it.

"She just flipped you off," Isabelle informed him, and he nodded. Soda walked alongside Isabelle, and Valenti and Steve followed in their wake, as they started bickering again.

xx

Valenti raised her eyebrows at Isabelle, who was pushing her food around her plate with a glum expression on her face.

"You trying to watch your figure or something?" she asked. "Because you're going to disappear."

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "I'm not hungry," she muttered.

Valenti frowned. "Do you feel sick? Is that why you wouldn't play today?"

Isabelle looked up from her food, her expression exasperated, and tried not to scowl at Valenti. "I didn't play today, because I didn't feel like it. Okay?"

Valenti either didn't catch the tone of her voice, or ignored it. "You were probably better off in the end. Did you know that Steve guy?"

Isabelle nodded, pulling a face. "Yeah. He's kind of a douche."

"Yeah I got that," Valenti remarked. "What's his problem? I thought he'd be nice - and then he turned out to be a total jerk."

Isabelle shrugged, throwing down her fork and pushing her full plate of food away from her. "I try to pretend he doesn't exist."

"I didn't realize he was friends with Soda," Valenti said then, frowning. "They don't seem like they would be."

"You seem pretty close with Sodapop," Isabelle muttered, nodding her head towards Valenti. At Isabelle's expression, she grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah Soda's pretty great," she said. "He's just easy to be around. No drama," she added, throwing her eyes to the sky, and Isabelle nodded her head.

"That must be so nice for you," she said coldly.

"I don't know why he was acting so _weird_," she said, shaking her head. "He's usually a lot nicer - you'd like him if he didn't act like a complete nutter. You'd like him normally."

Isabelle arched one delicate eyebrow. "Maybe I would."

"I know it doesn't seem like it," Valenti persisted. "But just wait until he doesn't act like a mental patient. I don't know what was the matter with him."

Isabelle pressed her lips together, not wanting to tell Valenti that it seemed pretty obvious what the matter had been, and _definitely _not wanting to tell her that it bothered Isabelle to no end, something that she couldn't even begin to explain.

She glanced over to the table on the other side of the hall, where Sodapop was sitting with his brother and Steve, and she frowned. "You seemed pretty intrigued by Steve," she remarked. "Until he went and said something stupid. What did he say?"

Valenti scowled murderously. "He said he didn't think I could be a Beater because I'm a girl."

Isabelle wrinkled her nose. "Someone call the authorities."

Valenti let out an indignant huff. "I beat just as well as any _boy. _Probably better."

"What about Soda?" Isabelle said, her gaze flickering back to him. Her stomach gave a feeble jolt.

"What about him?" said Valenti, shovelling a second helping of dessert down.

"Is he a good Beater?"

"I told you he was," Valenti grinned. "You'll see, just wait until we play you guys!"

"I'm sure I will," Isabelle replied, managing to force a small smile. What she didn't say though, was that she didn't think she'd like what she saw very much.

xx

"You didn't _have _to piss her off, ya know," Sodapop muttered. Steve threw him a disgruntled look.

"I didn't - she's just easily riled, is all," he replied. "That's whatcha get when a girl tries to be a Beater."

"She's actually pretty good," Soda informed him, peering over to where she sat with Isabelle.

Valenti sat with her back to him, but he could see Isabelle frowning at her best friend, her nose scrunched up in a way that made Soda want to laugh. She did that when she laughed too, he'd noticed, and it only made him want to make her laugh more. He was sure Valenti had mentioned her at some point - she'd gone and made that stupid 'lovebird' comment earlier on. Soda could have killed her - but he didn't like to show that he was embarrassed, so he'd taken to teasing Valenti instead.

After that, Isabelle went quiet, and Valenti was too busy arguing with Steve to notice Sodapop.

"Good at talkin' shit you mean," Steve grumbled, focusing on his dinner.

Soda rolled his eyes, and Ponyboy sitting on his other side, quit looking bored for a few seconds. "Is she the one Isabelle's friends with?"

Soda gazed at his younger brother, and nodded. Ponyboy grinned. "She must be real nice," he said. "Isabelle talks about her a lot."

"Oh yeah?" Soda grinned. He wondered what Isabelle could have to say about Valenti when she wasn't around - he knew now that Valenti hadn't much to say on Isabelle when she wasn't around, and he found himself almost wishing that Valenti _did _say more.

He frowned to himself and looked over to the far table again. He couldn't see Valenti's face, but Isabelle looked a little pissed.

"Sodapop?" Ponyboy's voice came from far away, and Soda jumped.

"Yeah?"

"I only asked did her friend talk about Isabelle at lot?"

Sodapop shook his head. "Not really. She should."

"Yeah," Steve snorted. "Make her talk _more."_

"What, you don't like her?" Soda asked.

Steve shrugged his shoulders. "She thinks a lot of herself."

Soda stared. "No she doesn't! You only don't like her 'cause she talked back to you, you hate that."

Steve grunted in reply, and Soda rolled his eyes. "I like her. I think you would on a normal day."

"What do you mean a normal day?" Steve muttered.

"I mean a day that wasn't so ... weird as today," Soda replied, frowning again as he looked once more to where the two girls were sitting.

"What was so weird about today?" Steve asked. Soda had no answer.


End file.
